Disney And Warner Bros. Usher In New Era Of Internet Piracy And They Deserve It
It seems the business of movies and television shows is heading in a strange direction lately. In recent years, screen lovers had a time of elation where almost anything you could think of was available to stream on one channel or another. It was a revolution!
Now, things are taking a swing downhill. Due to the greediness of the major players in the streaming revolution, the situation is getting hairy. After a significant drop in internet piracy due to the widespread availability of content, trends show that piracy is once again on the rise.
A Rise In Internet Piracy
Your favorite movies and television shows were supposed to get easier to access as technology prevailed, but capitalism has shrouded the benefits of streaming media for most viewers. The war between streaming channels has caused this weird compilation of goals and collections that do more to confuse loyal viewers than excite them, turning the most avid of cinephiles back to internet piracy for access to media.
Streamer Mergers Cause Confusion
The merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery has created streaming channels mixed with media viewers were used to finding on a different platform. Now when you see one show you follow on Discovery+, you’re likely to see the same show advertised as new again on your MAX streaming lineup. It’s confusing and annoying to longtime users of the services. Media companies are getting stingy with the distribution of certain content as well, giving more motive for taking matters into your own hands and turning to internet piracy. For instance, MAX took Westworld out of commission as soon as it was finished airing the final season. Warner Brothers laid the completed Batgirl movie to rest without ever releasing it, and other streamers have had mass content purges to the dismay of subscribers.
Harder To Purchase Phyiscal Media
What makes the lack of available content issue and the turn to internet piracy a bit more intense is that DVDs and Blu-rays are being pulled from the shelves in several big-name stores around the world. When you can’t find a movie on streaming and you can’t purchase it on DVD, does the title just fade out and die? No … some head on over to their favorite torrent website and download the title.
Streamers Have Too Much Control
Viewers who were so quickly spoiled with supreme availability of content are now disgruntled as the streaming giants of the world start leveraging their control over what we see, and it’s no wonder the upheaval is leading to an increase in internet piracy.
The Pushback
Notably, there is a growing number of filmmakers, actors, and fans who believe the rising trend of internet piracy is justified. Actors and directors in movies and television want their art to be seen, and the red tape involved in the distribution of content around the world can be one of the biggest hurdles to conquer when getting your film to the fans. A well-known actor and director Werner Herzog (The Mandalorian, Jack Reacher) said publicly, “Piracy has been the most successful form of distribution worldwide.” The streaming industry will have to go through a massive restructuring to avoid the full revival of internet piracy, and it doesn’t look as though that will happen anytime soon.Source: The Daily Beast
